The Biology Teacher
by Mosquito
Summary: Mulder and Scully are pulled into an investigation in Springfield Illinois, where female teachers are disappearing. They go undercover as a married couple, to see if the killer can be baited. However, their relationship goes through problems. Can they get


Title: The Biology Teacher  
  
Author: Mosquito (autopsy_candidate@yahoo.com)  
  
Date: 07-11-01  
  
Rated: PG  
  
Summary: Mulder and Scully are pulled into an investigation in Springfield Illinois, where female teachers are disappearing. They go undercover as a married couple, to see if the killer can be baited. However, their relationship goes through problems. Can they get through their problems and solve the case?  
  
Disclaimer: The Characters in the story are not mine. They belong to Chris Carter and 20th Century FOX. I am in no way trying to profit off of the story as well, so, I rather not be sued.  
  
Author's note: The idea for the story came to me while I was sitting in Biology class the other day and Mr. Thomas, my BIO teacher, began talking about animal sex organs. It was an interesting approach to reproduction in humans, I must say. Senior class is never boring! Go seniors!  
  
Dedication: I dedicate the story "Biology Teacher" to Ulrika, who can't get enough of Mr. Thomas, and who puts up with my constant teasing. Thanks Ulrika, you're one of the people that are making senior year worthwhile and fun!  
  
The Biology Teacher  
  
He knows the plants,  
  
He knows the earth,  
  
He knows how our bodies work.  
  
He knows evolution,  
  
He knows protein composition.  
  
He knows the fish,  
  
He knows the birds,  
  
He knows diseases I've never heard!  
  
He knows the atoms and elements too,  
  
He'll just never ever come close to you.  
  
Title: The Biology Teacher  
  
By Mosquito  
  
Part 1: the prologue  
  
The month had been slow, due to the fewer amounts of cases they had. Mulder was getting agitated, and Scully was getting annoyed. She'd been doing nothing but paper work for the last 6 days, and was ready to strangle the first thing she came into contact to that morning. Which in her mind would most probably be Mulder.  
  
"Good morning, Agent Scully." Agent Samuels said from behind her. She'd known who it was before he'd even said anything. His obnoxious strong cologne gave him away. He was such a pain in the ass and he loved himself a little too much for Scully. He was good looking, she didn't deny that, but his attitude was like a rotten egg, and she for one, couldn't stand filth.  
  
"Agent Samuels." She said. Samuels had formerly been air force, and had recently decided to give up his military courier to join the FBI. Scully thought he was an idiot. No, take that back, he is one.  
  
"What are you doing tonight?" He asked.  
  
"Um, I have a date tonight." She quickly covered. She was actually completely free. Her mom was off staying with Bill, Mulder would most likely have something to do, and wasn't interested in a relationship at the moment.  
  
"You wouldn't be lying to me, now would you?" He asked. "I remember you saying that your mother was out of town."  
  
She got angry. "As a matter of fact, Agent Samuels, I have a date with someone other than my mother. I do go on dates you know."  
  
"Do you, huh? I was told that Mrs. Spooky does not date."  
  
"I don't date idiots like you Samuels. Good day." She said leaving him speechless. It made her feel good. It was good to release your anger on someone, and at least it wasn't Mulder he was innocent. It wasn't his fault Skinner had come up with nothing to investigate. She slowly made it to their office. Mulder wasn't there. There was however a note that said that there was a new case, and that he'd already been briefed. She however had to go see Skinner. She smiled. Another case, she'd never been so happy. That is until she thought about her conversation with Agent Samuels.  
  
"If I'm lucky, we'll have to leave this afternoon and I won't have to find a date. Samuels will follow me to find out whom I'm going out with. Ah, well, I'll figure that out later." She told no one in particular and left for Skinner's office.  
  
Skinner was not in a good mood. Scully realized it in a second. "Agent Scully, where have you been? I've been looking for you all morning and I have other things to do."  
  
"I'm sorry sir, I've been held up by an agent and was unable to come to work on time." She answered with the same amount of irritation. She sat up straight and looked at him sternly.  
  
Skinner soon lost the staring contest. He backed down, took a breath and began to explain the case she and Mulder would be working on. "It's not a X- File," he started, "Mulder asked to be put on the case. Apparently someone approached him for help. There are female teachers missing from a high school in Springfield Illinois. The school's name is the Lincoln High School of Illinois. You'll be doing undercover work as the Biology teacher, as the last one has gone missing."  
  
"And Mulder?" Scully asked interested.  
  
"The only other position available was as the principal."  
  
"Principal!" She jerked.  
  
"Yes. You will be responsible to mingle with the other teachers and students and find out what's going on, then to report to Agent Mulder."  
  
Scully was still struggling to take in the idea of Mulder being the principal, and that he would also be her supervisor over the case. They had always been equal before, and she didn't want that to change.  
  
"But I don't want Mulder to go over his head that he's in charge of the case, so, you'll have to keep him in check." They were both thinking along the same lines. Scully liked that about Skinner, that he always knew what she was thinking. Mulder couldn't all the time, or if he could, he never let on. Scully's attention was once again focused on the case. "You're going to be married, on the case. We're actually going to use you as bait. Mulder wasn't to keen on the idea, but he agreed on the fact that because you'd be a married couple you'd be together a lot, and he'd be able to protect you. The reason that the two of you are married also, is that the victims were all married to another person working within the school, whether administration or otherwise."  
  
'Married to Mulder!' Scully ran through her mind. 'Oh my GOD!'  
  
Mulder and Scully had always had a special relationship. It was less than lovers, but more than friends. The reason they never crossed the line was because of work and what they were scared of: losing each other. Neither wanted the other to leave, and was scared that with a false move they might. Neither wanted to give their enemies a reason to kill one of them or to break them up, other than the obvious one, that they were the most important person in the other's life. They had taken Scully twice, and it had almost killed Mulder.  
  
Scully wanted something more than friendship. She knew he did too. But, was she brave enough to make the move? The case would prove to be interesting. Perhaps being so close to him would allow for them to follow up on their feelings, something that was long over due in her opinion.  
  
"Do you understand the case?" Skinner interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Do you have any questions for me?"  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"Very well, you are dismissed. Have a nice trip Agent."  
  
"Thank you, Sir." Scully said then rising from her chair took her leave.  
  
The elevator ride downstairs seemed to take forever. Her thoughts were taken up in the thought of Mulder. It had been so long since she had last felt anything. She needed feelings. She needed to feel as if she was wanted, even if it was only once. She could rely on no one but Mulder, she could trust no other male, much less love another one.  
  
"I'm pathetic." She said entering the x-files office.  
  
"How are you pathetic?" Mulder's voice came. Scully turned and felt pang hit her, he was definitely not meant to hear that.  
  
"Never mind, Mulder. What time are we leaving?"  
  
"Our flight's in 3 hours, so I'd start getting ready. While we drive to the airport you can explain to me what you find so pathetic about yourself." He told her.  
  
"Never mind Mulder." She told him. "I'm going home to pack, pick me up in an two hours." Then, with that she left the office.  
  
* * *  
  
Mulder's day started the same as every other. His alarm clock woke him at six am. He looked at the ceiling and contemplated going in to work today. No case. Paperwork. All the things he didn't want to do. But he got out of bed. Every morning the same thing got him out of bed. Dana Scully. Just the thought that he would see her was enough to get him out of bed and in his jogging outfit.  
  
He ran his usual two-mile lap and then came in for a shower. He bathed and dressed in a matter of minutes. Then he was out the door; he'd pick up a granola bar in the coffee room on the twenty-sixth floor. That would be his breakfast. He quickly drove to the office to make sure he'd be in when Scully came. He loved to see her come in and put her stuff away. He loved to sit at his desk and wonder what she would look like when she would come in.  
  
Today would have been no different if Agent Quinn-Judge hadn't encountered him in the garage that morning.  
  
"Agent Mulder."  
  
"Good morning Agent Quinn-Judge." He told the beautiful blond woman who stepped in the elevator with him. He noticed her dark blue suit and how it matched with her eyes. Then he shook it off. He shouldn't be looking at her.  
  
"I'm very glad I ran into you this morning. I was actually going to go see if I could get an appointment with Assistant Director Skinner. I have a case, which I cannot solve. I was out at the sight for a week and came back with nothing, and I would like to change the case into an undercover operation."  
  
"What does the operation have to do with me?" Mulder was very straight forward when it came to people he was trying to get rid of.  
  
"Well, because it involves female teachers I was wondering if you and Agent Scully would like the case. If you follow me to my office I could explain it to you."  
  
Mulder nodded and followed the tall beauty to her office. He looked around at the office, which included pictures all over the walls. Many of them being children, some of them of her husband Christopher. Mulder had met the man once or twice, and found him a most formidable conversation holder, who was not quick at making judgments.  
  
"Please take a seat, Agent Mulder. Now, let me get the case out." She motioned to a chair. "In Springfield, Illinois, for the past six months female teachers from the ages twenty-eight to thirty-five have been disappearing. As far as I could tell they were well-liked teachers, and all married to someone else within the school. They had good relations with the other teachers and students. That's all we know. I'm the fourth person to investigate into the matter, and have as yet not found an answer. I actually wanted to ask Agent Scully if she'd help me out, but I was told that the two of you always work together, and so, I'm willing to hand over the case to the two of you."  
  
Mulder looked at it for a moment. The case didn't interest him in the least, but it would keep the two of them busy and away from paperwork. So he took the case from the Agent and with a nod headed for the door. "I'll tell AD Skinner that I have accepted your case and will therefore take it out of your hands. If you think of anything else helpful, give me a call." Then he headed out of the door.  
  
The elevator seemed to take hours, but Mulder finally got in, and took it two floors lower to his boss's office. Skinner was behind his desk getting work down when Mulder walked in. He looked up at him and then put down his pen. "Agent Mulder, how can I help you? I haven't gotten a case for you yet."  
  
"I've got one. I want to take it from Agent Quinn-Judge in Missing Persons. I've got her approval. Actually, she approached me with it."  
  
Skinner took the file from Mulder and seemed to thumb through it. "There isn't much here."  
  
"No, there isn't. I'd like to do some background checks into the school and such, so if you could get everything arranged and brief Scully I'll go get that stuff done."  
  
Skinner nodded and dismissed him. Mulder wondered what his boss was thinking. He just seemed so quiet. He thought about the AD for a second longer, and then turned his thoughts to his partner. His loving Dana. She was always Dana in his mind, but he called her Scully. He still hadn't completely figured out his feelings for his partner, but he knew that something would have to be done soon, before they both burst and hate each other.  
  
In their office he quickly scribbled a note to her, that Skinner had a case for them and that she should go see him. Then he grabbed his coat and left the office for the Lone Gunmen. They'd be able to dig something up for him.  
  
They couldn't. The case was getting odder and odder by the minute. He quickly returned to the office to tell Scully of his results, and the fact that for the first time the Lone Gunmen couldn't find something. But, when he returned he noticed that she hadn't come back to the office yet. So, he set down to do some of the dreaded paperwork. It wasn't long before he heard her steps down the hallway. He looked up expecting her to come in, but she stopped and hesitated for a moment before saying: "I'm pathetic," then came in wearing one of her better-looking suits. It showed a little more leg than the others, and the color matched her hair, it being a light red. The words she had said made him wonder, and he would enquire about it.  
  
* * *  
  
She'd quickly packed and was sitting on a couch with the latest edition of the pathological journal, when her thoughts once again turned to her partner. She'd been foolish to let her feelings loose and she had allowed Mulder to realize she wasn't happy. He had told her that he was going to ask about it again, and he would. She knew that. What would she say? "Um, it's nothing Mulder, I'm just incredibly sexually frustrated and also in love with you and I find it pathetic that I don't have a man and that I have fallen in love with my partner. The one man in the world I can't have a relationship with." Oh yeah, that would definitely fly, her mind sarcastically told her.  
  
Just then there was a knock on the door.  
  
Mulder.  
  
The inevitable had arrived and she was once again not ready for it. She looked at the clock. "He's at least an hour early," she noticed.  
  
She opened the door to see Mulder in jeans and a t-shirt, just the way she liked him. "You're early." She indicated.  
  
"Yeah, I thought that it would give us some time to talk, since you walked out on me this morning." He followed her to her couches and took what had been designated years ago as his couch. Scully sat back in the place she had been occupying and looked up at him. "First of all, Scully, what was that all about, anyway? How do you find yourself pathetic and why did you so abruptly leave after I inquired?"  
  
She sat in silence. She didn't know what to say. In the end she knew he would settle for nothing less but the truth. "I'm lonely, Mulder."  
  
He gave her an odd look. "I know I have been busy and all lately…" he trailed off.  
  
"No, not like that. Not that kind of lonely. I haven't been in a relationship for the last 5 years, and I feel it catching up on me."  
  
He nodded asking her to continue.  
  
"But that isn't the worst part. The worst part is that I do love someone. I'm madly in love with someone I can't have a relationship with."  
  
"Does he or she know?"  
  
"I'm not gay, Mulder, and no, he doesn't know. I can't tell him. I'm too scared and we wouldn't be able to have a relationship. He doesn't love me anyway."  
  
"How do you know, if you haven't told him?"  
  
"I just do. I'm not his type." She explained. Scully's heart was sinking into her stomach as she told Mulder of her undying love for him, while he remained ignorant.  
  
"He has a type then?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Tall, brunette, big breasted, thin with long legs: I could never match up to that. Plus, I know I'm not the only one head over heels for him. There are many, and most far more beautiful than me. So, I'll most likely never get him. I'll just need to get him out of my mind."  
  
Mulder looked at her in desperation, or that's what Scully thought he looked like. He seemed to want to help her, but the look he had was one of pain. Scully didn't know what that meant. She didn't know how to react to his semi-hidden pain stricken visage, but it wasn't until his next comment that she was truly scared.  
  
His voice was soft and horse when he spoke, she barely heard it, but none- the-less every word struck her. "Who is he, Scully?"  
  
The simple question he asked shook her in a way none had and her mind refused to tell him the answer. If she told him the answer she would be giving everything away. Her deepest secret would be revealed and her worst nightmare might come true. For years she had been having dreams that he told her that he didn't love her back; that he never could and never would. Every night the dream changed. One night he would reject her in the worst manner, the next he would give her a "Dear Abby" speech and leave. She dreamt that she was unworthy for such a man as Mulder, and every night she prayed that she would receive that worthiness.  
  
"I can't tell you, Mulder." She told him.  
  
"You can tell me anything, Scully." He rested a hand on top of hers. She was wringing them: she was so nervous in front of him. "It's eating you up inside, please let me help. You know that I would do anything for you, Dana, please tell me."  
  
She couldn't. She wouldn't. It would be her undoing and she couldn't afford that. But he pestered her, his soothing voice telling her to trust him, to have faith in him. It took her a second to realize what he was doing, and when she did, she blew up.  
  
"I'm not a fucking patient, I don't need you to throw your psychological tricks at me, Mulder. I'm a doctor too. Don't you think I realize what you're doing? I'm not stupid. I didn't become a pathologist by having my brains in my ass like most people are led to believe. And if you think I'm going to tell you anything now, you are very much mistaken!" She was furious. She was off the couch and in front of him. Yelling at him as if there was no tomorrow. It was his entire fault. All of it was. She could have lived with her feelings. She'd been doing a good job thus far, and she didn't need him to bring those feelings out of her and make her uncomfortable.  
  
"Maybe the reason why he doesn't love you back is because you're being such an uptight bitch about it. No wonder everyone calls you 'Ice Queen.'"  
  
That's when her hand contacted with his jaw. She looked at him as his hand came to rest on the spot where she had slapped him. Hurt, fear and anger settled on her face, and then without another thought she walked out of her apartment. He'd lock it for her when he decided to get himself out. She raced to her car and, just as he ran out of the building she pulled out and drove off, leaving him in the middle of the road looking after her.  
  
She needed to go someplace. She needed guidance and sympathy. But most of all, she needed someone who would listen to her, and give her an honest, unbiased opinion: someone who knew both her and Mulder, and someone who wasn't intimidated by either of them in the least. Options ran through her brain. First her Mom, and she turned the car and drove in that direction, but she soon changed her mind and exited the highway. 'Frohike maybe?' she thought, but Mulder would find her there, that was probably the second place he would look. Therefore only one other person came up to mind, and she hoped he was home.  
  
Scully stopped the car at a gas station to fill the tank, and called Skinner while she was waiting.  
  
"Hello?" A deep voice came through the phone.  
  
"Sir, it's Scully." She said, her voice came out as one in distraught and he picked up on it immediately.  
  
"Scully what's wrong? Are you okay? Where's Mulder?" All his questions came out at once, and she had no choice but to let out a sigh, a sad one at that.  
  
"Sir, can I come to your place, I've got myself in a fix. I need someone to talk to, do you mind?"  
  
"No, of coarse not. I'll be at home." He said. His voice was one of authority. He was always there for her, even when she thought he was sleeping with the enemy. Figuratively that is.  
  
Thirty minutes later she was in front of his door, and with a deep breath she knocked on the door. The short time that passed seemed like an eternity before he opened the door. Didn't even look at him, but hung her head and looked at the floor. He escorted her in and sat her down in a chair in the living room.  
  
"Now, Scully," he started, "explain to me why you are here in my living room instead of on an airplane headed to Springfield, Illinois."  
  
"I can't work with Mulder anymore, Sir." She told him in a soft tone.  
  
"Why, what's wrong, Dana?" his voice was of concern. He came and sat next to her, trying co comfort her. He could tell that she was on the verge of falling apart. She wanted to, but she wouldn't let herself.  
  
"I did something stupid, Sir." She started. "I fell in love with my partner." She fell silent again. "I don't think I can work with him anymore."  
  
"Have you told him?" Skinner asked her.  
  
"Yes… kind of… no… I tried. He was pushing me to tell him, and then he did his psychoanalytical crap on me." That's when she started pouring tears. "He called me a Bitch and said that it was no wonder that people called me an 'Ice Queen.'" Tears streamed down her face, and Skinner pulled her into his arms. "I know, that I shouldn't trivial you with all my problems," she paused and breathed, "but, ever since my father passed, I've considered you my father, and I…." She trailed off. She clutched onto his t-shirt and let the tears drop silently.  
  
Skinner leaned back and took her with him, letting her lean on him. Pride was glowing from his eyes. The thought that his strongest and most capable agent would consider him as a father figure, made him swell with the feeling of superiority and pride. It was a feeling he was never allowed to experience before. He and his wife had never been able to have children, and he therefore wanted nothing more than to take her under his wing. But what could he do to make everything better? What advice could he give her that would help?  
  
"See, I think you have it wrong, Dana. I think he does love you. I think that he was trying to get you to open up, and that his plan backfired on him." He explained.  
  
"If he loved me, then why did he say such hurtful things? I can usually take it when someone calls me a Bitch or 'Ice Queen,' but not when he says it. I can't take it when he says something like that. I thought he thought of me better than that. I thought he knew me, but I'm not so sure anymore."  
  
"It will turn out okay in the end. I promise you. I'm going to find out where he is, and then I'm going to talk to him." He said.  
  
Scully shook violently. She couldn't see him. She would break if she did. She didn't want him to see her. More to the point, she didn't think that she could take seeing him. He'd hurt her too badly and she wouldn't be able to be comfortable in front of him ever again. He knew her weakness, or would shortly and she could not have someone hurting her every step of the way. "I can't see him." She told Skinner softly.  
  
"I don't expect you to. I suggest you go somewhere else, and I'll talk to him here. Do you have any friends you can go to?"  
  
"Mulder was the only friend I had. I only have him and his friends." She said slowly.  
  
Skinner nodded and picked up the phone. Then he dialed. Soon he was put through, and Scully heard him speak. "Karen, it's Uncle Walter, are you busy?… Do you have any classes tomorrow?…. Could you do me a favor? I have a friend that needs to go out for a while for a cup of coffee and talk to someone, will you take her?" He listened while Karen, on the other end, spoke, then he spoke. "Okay I'll see you soon, she's at my place." Then he hung up. He turned to Scully and saw the face she made. The raised eyebrow was so becoming of her. Skinner chuckled. "You'll like her, believe me. Everyone does."  
  
Scully nodded and sat back closing her eyes. Mulder's visit with her replayed in her mind and she let a tear slip.  
  
Skinner caught it, sat down next to her and took her back into his arms. "Hey, don't cry anymore. I'm going to fix this. Don't worry. I'm going to talk to him, and I'm going to force him to listen. Even if I have to hold him at gunpoint I will get him to listen to me. You go out with Karen and you have a good time. You deserve it.  
  
Just then there was a knock on the door and a key slid into the door and then the door opened. A young woman stepped in and removed her poncho. She had a Georgetown sweater on and jeans. She was a collage student. "Hi Uncle Walter. Is that her?"  
  
"Hey, Karen. Yes, this is Dana Scully. Dana, meet my niece Karen Skinner."  
  
"Pleased to meet you." Scully forced a smile. She got up and reached for her coat, which she had taken off a while before.  
  
"Take care of her," Skinner spoke up, "she's my best agent."  
  
"You bet, Uncle Walter. I'll have her smiling and happy by the time you call me to bring her back." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she herded Scully out the door and pulled her poncho back on. "So, Dana, tell me about yourself."  
  
Not in the mood to talk and a little paranoid Scully held back for a second, then thought: 'It's Skinner's niece, he probably didn't just ask for her. I trust him, so I should trust her.' Then She looked up at Karen and said, "Well, I'm a navy brat, with two brothers and a sister. My Dad and sister both passed: my sister last year, and my dad a couple years ago. I studied Medicine at Georgetown and I specialized in pathology."  
  
"Oh, my goodness." Karen said.  
  
"What?" Scully looked around worried. Seeing nothing she looked at Karen.  
  
"You're the Dana that Uncle Walter talks about. He used to tell me all about you when I was in high school. You're like my personal hero! This is so cool! I never thought I'd get to meet you, much less take you out for coffee!"  
  
Scully blushed.  
  
"Oh, god, this is so cool. I have so many questions to ask you." Then she paused and looked at Scully. "I'm sorry, I'm supposed to listen to your problem." She motioned to a Starbucks at the end of the street and they both walked in. There they ordered coffee, and sat down in a corner of the café. "So, tell me, Agent Scully, what has got you wrapped up."  
  
"Call me Dana, please, with my behavior tonight I don't think that I'm really worthy to be called Agent."  
  
"Okay, Dana."  
  
Dana really didn't want to talk to Karen, but there was something about her that made her feel comfortable, and before she knew it she was pouring her story once again.  
  
"I can't say that surprises me." Karen said as a conclusion to Scully's story. With all the two of you have to go through together, it doesn't surprise me that you are in love with him. But, Uncle Walter always told me that you both love each other, so I think that he probably loves you."  
  
"How do you know? Have you ever met Mulder?" Scully asked in an almost rude manner.  
  
"No, but Uncle Walter is an excellent judge of character, and if he says that Mulder loves you, then he's probably 99.8 percent correct."  
  
"And the 0.2 percent left?" Scully said with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"That leaves for human inaccuracy." Karen smiled.  
  
An hour and a half passed. Karen had gotten to ask her share of questions with respect to Scully's work, and at some point Scully had begun to tell stories with enthusiasm. Scully was once again laughing at different that had taken place along the way. Skinner had been right. Karen was easy to get along with, and the admiration the younger woman had for her was great for her ego. It was nice to know not everyone was against her decisions. Her parents had both been disappointed when she opted to go into the FBI instead of becoming a doctor. Bill had yelled at her for hours, telling her that no sister of his was becoming a Fed. Karen, however was the opposite. She agreed with Scully's decisions and had decided that her decisions were the same ones she was going to make. Scully felt fantastic. She felt looked up to and she felt confident of her own actions. Karen was marvelous at getting her to feel better.  
  
"You mean that Mulder was so out of it that he began to sing?" They were both laughing hysterically.  
  
"Yeah, he sang part of the theme song of Shaft." Scully's smile was radiant. She was much more relaxed than she was when they had first arrived. "Who's the private-eye who's a sex machines with all the chicks. Shaft. They say this man shaft is a bad mother. Shut your mouth. Just talking about a shaft." Scully recalled the incident.  
  
Then Karen's phone rang. Scully had been dreading it. That meant that she would have to face Mulder. It meant that the true feelings of both of them would have to come out, and it meant that she would come to know if Mulder had the same feelings for her as she did for him. She was scared. She was petrified. Most of all she was terrified that he might not feel the same way for her.  
  
Karen looked at her. Then picked up the phone. "Hi Uncle Walt…. No, we're having a great time. I'm getting the inside scoop on you and the X-files. Dana has some really great stories about both Mulder and herself. Some of them are really scary though, like when she almost got beheaded or when she was abducted, but she's got other stories, like when Mulder and a CIA agent changed bodies, to drown the harder ones down. So, are you ready for us…? We'll be right over…. Okay, see you soon."  
  
Scully sighed. It was time to face the inevitable. She got up and paid for the coffees they'd had and then following Karen walked back to Skinners apartment building. She stopped in front of it. She still wasn't sure she could see him again.  
  
Karen noticed the look on her face and then turned to her. "I'll be with you for moral support. Okay?"  
  
Scully nodded and then taking a large breath walked into the building to Skinner's apartment and her future.  
  
* * *  
  
Mulder was going crazy. He couldn't find Scully. "What have I done? Oh, Dana, come back to me." He said over and over again, that it was forming into a mantra. He'd looked everywhere: His place, her Mom's, the park bench, the reflecting pool, their office, he was even contemplating driving up to Arlington. He couldn't find her and he was going mad. Mad up to the point that he had sat in his car and begun to cry. "Dana, come back to me. I need you. I love you. I'll die without you." He tried her hand phone for the umpteenth time and was ready to quit all together and just shove his gun barrel in his mouth and end his whole fucking life, when the call came through.  
  
But his deliberator was not the one he envisioned. When his phone rang he merely looked at it once or twice. Then he quickly turned it on and called for her. "Scully?"  
  
"No, Mulder. It's Skinner," a harsh voice came through. The authoritativeness was impossible to miss.  
  
"Oh, Sir, sorry."  
  
"Mulder I need to talk to you." His boss told him. It wasn't an option, Mulder noticed, but a direct order. But Mulder had more important things to do. Like find Scully.  
  
"If this is about why I'm still in DC and not in Illinois, sir, it's easy to explain. But I can't do that now. I have to find Scully."  
  
"She's with me." Skinner told Mulder. "She told me about what happened, and has decided to allow me to talk to you, while my niece Karen took her out to calm her down. So, now, Mulder, either you come over here, or I allow Scully to transfer out of the X-files."  
  
'Transfer out of the X-files!' Mulder's head was spinning. Does she really want to do that? Have I fucked up so much? Could I have miss interpreted her? I should never have psychoanalyzed her. She can't stand it. She's a doctor. I should have expected as much.' Then returning to Skinner he said: "I'm twenty minutes away. I'll be there as soon as I can." Then he hung up, and throwing the phone on the seat next to him he put the car into gear and turned it towards Skinner's apartment.  
  
The drive seemed endless. Every minute seemed to extend, and the fact that he got caught at every traffic light didn't help. Finally he arrived at his boss's apartment building. He raced into the building. He stood in front of the elevator, impatient to hear what Skinner had to say. But the elevator took too long. So, he turned to the stairs and began to climb to the twelfth floor.  
  
Drenched in sweat, head pounding, and loss of energy, he came to the floor and pounded on the door. He waited briefly and then tried again. The door opened to an older man. Yet though his face showed the age of a forty-five year old man, Assistant Director Walter Skinner was by no means weak. His body was build and well defined, and his mind possessed the intelligence and demeanor of a great leader. He was the same height as Mulder without his shoes, and Mulder noticed how he didn't seem to realize his boss's height before.  
  
"Is she here?" Mulder's voice came out as one of concern and sadness.  
  
Skinner shook his head. "She's with my niece Karen. I'll call for her to come back when we're ready." Then Skinner escorted Mulder into his living room and asked him to take a seat.  
  
Mulder hesitated for a second, but then sat, holding a pillow in his hand. "I did something awful to her. I stooped her down to a level of a criminal, and I analyzed her, as I would a serial killer. I shouldn't have, but she wouldn't open up to me, and I thought that by being nice kind and concerned, or perhaps interrogating her as I did some of the criminals I have in the past, with general conversation, would get her to tell me what was wrong."  
  
"Well, what happened?" Skinner asked.  
  
"At first it worked. She told me what was wrong, that she was lonely and that she wished for a partner. A life partner. I tried to be supportive and understanding, but I was so jealous of the man she was in love with that I wanted to know who he was so that I could get rid of him. Childish isn't it? But, she's the only one I have. If she leaves then I'll be alone. I don't need a sexual relationship. They only seem to cause me grief anyhow, but I do need her friendship and her trust. Without them I am nothing. So I decided to try and force it out of her. She hit me and ran out." Mulder's head hung and he sat there wondering how long he would have until he would face that loneliness.  
  
"The funny thing is," he continued, "I love her so much, and I'm so scared to tell her. I guess I'm the only one keeping this friendship as it is. I feel sad about that. I feel like I've let her down, but most of all I feel so…" He trailed off, not being able to find the word he needed. "I feel… like I don't deserve her, and that's why I don't do anything."  
  
Skinner had sat silent, and Mulder was wondering what his boss would say about the whole thing. Skinner had an odd way of listening when you needed him, but ordering as help. Mulder had grown used to it over the years, but he still thought of how much it reminded him of his own father, before Samantha was taken: Strong, forceful, but understanding and kind.  
  
"Wanna know what kind of an idiot you are, Mulder?" He said with a smile.  
  
"Why not, I could just add that to the list of things I hate about myself."  
  
"The man Scully was talking about was you."  
  
"Come again," Mulder said confused.  
  
"The man she's in love with is you. Telling you that way was her way of letting you know of her feelings."  
  
Mulder let Skinner's words sink into him. Then his eyes widened. "Oh my god! It can't be possible! But she…. She…. It doesn't make sense. She said that I had a type. Tall, leggy, big busted…." He trailed off. Mulder was mumbling, but Skinner caught on.  
  
"Well, no wonder. Look at the kind of women you've been around. Detective Green, and then Agent Fowley, they both seem to fit in that category pretty well."  
  
"She also said that he didn't love her back- doesn't she know how much I love her? I wake up in the morning just to see her. She's the only thing keeping me from eating a bullet. How could she think that I have no desires for her?" Mulder seemed to contemplate aloud. "How couldn't she see that?" He turned to Skinner.  
  
"Have you told her?" Skinner asked.  
  
"Well, not exactly, but then with all the years and history we have behind us, it just seemed kind of obvious. Well, I thought it did. But then again, I'm supposed to know her the best, and look at what kind of stupid things I've done tonight. I feel horrid. I feel miserable. Now I have the only woman I could ever love. One I would do anything for. The only one I can see with me for the rest of my life, and I've sent her running. I've gotten her to hate me, and want to get rid of me as fast as she can… and with perfect reason. She should get away from me I don't deserve her. I only seem to hurt her and her family. She'd be better off without me. I'm an annoyance to her. She'd be much better with someone more normal, someone who could offer her a normal life, and a secure environment." Mulder was babbling again.  
  
"Mulder." Skinner tried to get his attention. "Mulder!" Finally he received it and he sat back sighing. "Now, if anyone knows anything about females, it's me. I've got a marriage behind me, and three sisters. So, let me tell you something about them. Whenever they do something it is because they want to. They won't do something if they don't agree with it. So, do you think that Scully would have joined and stayed at the FBI if she didn't want to? Do you think that she would have stayed with you if she didn't want to? She's lost things and people to your cause, but if I know Scully, your cause has also become hers. She could not give up on the x-files, because by doing that she is giving up on herself. That would not be the Dana Scully you and I know and both respect." Skinner paused and looked at Mulder.  
  
He was still deep in thought, but listening to Skinner at the same time. Mulder nodded, and then Skinner continued:  
  
"Second of all. You've not sent her running. She loves you, and she thinks that because you don't love her back she cannot live with working with you. She'll come back to you if you ask her to and give her a good reason. She'll be back as soon as I call, and then you're going to have to do something. If you don't want her to take that reassignment, you're going to have to tell her all that she means to you, because otherwise, she will leave, and then you will be left by yourself." Skinner stressed the last line.  
  
Mulder knew that loneliness was his biggest fear. If Scully left him, he would be nothing. There would be nothing left. His family was gone. He had discovered what happened to his sister, Samantha. He would die. He was already dieing inside without her.  
  
Just then he knew what he would tell her. He knew what Scully wanted to hear, and how he would tell it. He suddenly stood up and then looked at Skinner. "Call her back. I need her. I need to tell her. I need to tell her." His eyes looked pleading and full of hope.  
  
Skinner nodded and then called his niece.  
  
Mulder knew what he was doing. For the first time in his life, he knew what he really wanted, and he would get it. He was good enough for the best, and the best was Scully. If she wanted him, then what was he going to do? Refuse the only woman he himself wanted? NO! Of course not! He would let her have him, and he was determined to tell her just that.  
  
* * *  
  
Scully was scared. She was nervous, scared, hopeful, and dreading all at the same time. Mulder had a way of doing that to her, and it was nerve- wracking. What would she do what would she say? What had Skinner told him? How would Mulder react? A multitude of questions were swimming through her head. She stood in front of Skinner's door and thought. Then she pulled herself together. Whatever would happen, she knew she would have Skinner's support, and so, she knocked.  
  
Skinner opened the door. Scully noticed that he was wearing a coat. He smiled at her and then said: "He's just inside. Go on in. Don't worry. I'm going to take Karen out to dinner. I'll see the both of you after your case." He quickly hugged Scully and then took to his niece. As they went down the hall she could hear him: "So, what'll it be tonight, Karen?"  
  
"How about that striptease bar down the street?" She answered playfully.  
  
"I can't take you there, your mother would kill me." They both laughed, "how about Mexican?"  
  
"Taco Bell?" Karen asked hopefully.  
  
"You read my mind," Skinner said putting an arm across her shoulders while entering the elevator. Another few seconds and they were gone.  
  
Scully watched the elevator door close and sighed. She looked back at the open door and stepped in. She was so scared now. She was even scared of herself. The lights were on thankfully, but they were dim. A type of darkness reserved for intimacy spread throughout the apartment.  
  
'Where's Mulder?' she asked herself, but she didn't have to wait much longer. She saw him sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. She made no move and as if paralyzed waited for him to notice her. He eventually did. Looking up he saw her stand there and then in a rush, got up and ran to her, taking her into his arms. He crushed her to him, and she felt that she could not get any closer to him physically. Her arms stayed at her side. She did not have the courage to even try and hold him.  
  
"Oh, God, Dana." She heard him say. His warm breath tickled her ear, and her body shook as if in a shiver. She didn't want to react to him, but her body betrayed her. "I was so worried," he continued. "I was so worried that you'd leave me alone. I was sure you were going to. I'm selfish Dana. I know. I need you though, and no matter how much I hate the idea of being dependent on you, I know I am. I cannot function without you, much less live. I need you, Dana, I love you."  
  
Scully wanted so much to jump and sing, but her heart stopped her. She was happy and pained at the same time. She had hurt her so badly. "You hurt me Mulder." She told him. How can I trust you? How am I supposed to let myself love you if I am scared of how you might hurt me? Why should I put myself through it?" Tears streamed down her cheeks, but now she did raise her hands and placed them on his back, hugging him to her. She refused to let go, no matter what she felt like.  
  
They were both silent unable to answer the question. Wishing to know what to say and at the same time regretting anything that could be an answer in fear of how the other would react. Therefore they stayed in each other's arms hoping the other would find a solution to Scully's quarry.  
  
Eventually it was Scully, herself, that answered her own problem. Her mind was working rapidly, as if she was taking on a case and she needed a piece of evidence connected to the larger picture. After all she did. She needed to connect her feelings to the facts. Her feelings were telling her that she loved him, that she trusted, and that no matter what he did to her, she would love him. A war raged within her between her heart and her brain. Neither wavering from their standpoint and each had good reason to. Yet eventually it was her heart that broke through, and it was her brain that spoke and justified her hearts thoughts. "Mulder, I'm going to trust you again, whether I like it or not. My heart won't let me otherwise, even though my mind is in complete disagreement. I love you, and nothing it seems is going to be able to tell me otherwise."  
  
Mulder didn't say anything, but pulled her against him tighter. This seemed to scare Scully. She'd told him everything on a limb, and he had yet to respond to it. She was scared of what he might say. Would her nightmares come true? She needed to know. Damn the consequences.  
  
"Mulder, what are you thinking?"  
  
"I'm so happy Scully." He whispered to her. "I'm so happy you love me, and I'm so happy you've come back. I was so jealous when you told me you loved someone. I was so jealous of the man. I wanted to kill him. I've loved you for so long that the idea that you were in love with another man broke me up. Then when you left, I felt so empty. You were gone. I could feel myself dying. The time between you leaving and Skinner's call have been the longest hours of my life. I drove around half of Washington to find you. I even drove all the way down to your mom's house to find that your car wasn't there. I've never been so lost in my life. I've never felt so empty and alone either. The last time I felt like that was when you were abducted. I've never been so frenzied." His voice was still soft, ant it wasn't until Scully moved to look into his eyes, that she found him crying. "Do you know what Skinner said?" He continued, "he said that if I didn't get my ass over here he would let you reassign into a different department. I hung up and drove so fast here. I was so scared that you really would do that. Oh, God, Scully. I would have died if that had happened."  
  
Mulder buried his head into her shoulder and cried. He felt as a child having found his or her mother. He was so relieved and safe that he released all the emotions he had.  
  
Scully, who had been listening to him in silence stroked his back and tried to calm him down. Eventually he did stop crying. Scully wanted to reassure him. She needed to reassure herself. She lifted his head and looked into his eyes. Then at his lips: she wanted to kiss him. Slowly she moved towards him and as their lips met a silent forgiveness was shared between them.  
  
The kiss was soft and light; it was more than a touch, yet less than any normal kiss. They looked at each other briefly, and then as if attacking her, Mulder swooped down and captured her lips in a more intense fiery kiss. His passion was intense. All the emotions he'd had that night had finally taken his toll, and he was now acting on them. He was once again letting his emotions lead him rather than his head and unlike other times in the past there was no negative reaction that occurred. For the first time in his life his emotions were making a positive impact and he reveled in the feeling.  
  
Scully, held on for dear life as if just his lips could kill her in a heartbeat. Her head told her otherwise. But like his work and his quest he was passionate. He was focused on a single item, and the fact that she was the item: that item of attention, made her dizzy beyond belief. She had always wondered what it would be like to have all his focus on her, and now that she knew it frightened her and excited her all in one. Like a roller coaster she was fearful, daring and excited. Every movement he made, made her heart leap and she loved the feeling. She loved feeling dangerous. She'd given up her dangerous streak long ago after medical school (with the exception of her time in Philadelphia where she allowed herself to get involved with a psychopath with a tattoo that talked to him) but she felt it coming back to her. She liked it.  
  
But then as a spur of the moment her mind took over again. "Mulder," she broke off from him, putting her forehead against his, "we need to go." She told him softly.  
  
"Go?" he asked softly.  
  
"We have a case, Mulder. We need to go to Springfield remember?"  
  
"But Scully, I just got you. I don't want to go to work."  
  
"Mulder, you'll always have me. We have all the time in the world. Let's go and get this case done, and then we'll be able to do anything we want."  
  
"Okay Scully." He said.  
  
"Mulder, do me a favor and call me Dana."  
  
"Okay Dana."  
  
That's when Scully began laughing hysterically. He sounded like a broken record, monotone and repeating the same thing over and over again. Mulder looked at her for a second, and then realizing what she was laughing about joined her.  
  
"Come on, Dana. Let's get out of here. Maybe there's a late night flight to Springfield." Mulder said putting his arm around her waist.  
  
"There is. There's a ten-thirty flight." Scully commented.  
  
"Good, I've got your stuff in the car. We can take off just as soon as I tell Skinner's neighbor we're leaving and that she can lock up for us." Mulder said.  
  
Scully nodded, and while se waited for Mulder to grab his coat, she took her time to look at him. Not as a partner, nor as a friend, but as a woman looking at her man. The thought of saying: I am woman hear me roar, came to her mind.  
  
Mulder turned around and looked at her. He smiled and then escorted her out the door to the hall. He quickly knocked the neighbors door and waited. A woman in her early thirties opened the door and told him she'd close the door and then bade them goodbye as she locked up after them and returned to her room. Mulder once again looked at Scully his eyes portraying his love for her and then with a hand behind her back helped her into the elevator, off to another adventure.  
  
* * *  
  
Wednesday morning. Springfield looks deserted. They tried checking into the Best Western across the street from the congress building, but found it full. Apparently a group of School kids from Chicago had taken up more than half of the hotel while they were visiting their state Capital. Mulder sighed. They couldn't just kick out a couple kids, that wasn't right, and after all they were about 6 hours late. He was about to ask for another hotel, when Scully said, "Don't worry Mulder. I know where we can stay." She said.  
  
Mulder looked at her curiously and then followed her out the door and back into the rental car. She directed him to the congress building. They got out there and then Scully showed her to an office on the second floor. Senator Brown. Mulder looked at her. "Scully, how is Senator Brown going to be able to find us a place in Springfield?" He asked her.  
  
"I've known Paul Brown for years. He used to be my boyfriend in ninth grade, but we broke up. We just weren't compatible as anything more than friends." Scully knocked on the door and let herself in.  
  
Mulder thought of all the times he'd come into contact with the senator over the years and wondered how welcome he'd be. He didn't let his fear known to Scully because she seemed so anxious to see her long lost friend again. He therefore looked around the room. Mulder noted the secretary that sat behind the desk, just behind the doors. She was in her sixties. Her hair was a jumble of gray hair and her glasses were something out of the sixties. They were the same purple as the clothing she wore. To Mulder she looked like an aborigine (eggplant).  
  
"Yes?" She said in an old Cackling sneer. If her appearance hadn't scared Mulder, than her voice definitely did.  
  
"My name is Dana Scully, I'd like to see Senator Brown." Mulder's partner said. She seemed to take no notice of the hag and so went about her business as usual.  
  
"You don't have an appointment with him." The Secretary commented.  
  
"No, I don't. I'm an old acquaintance. I happened to be in Springfield and came to see him."  
  
"He's very busy today, perhaps tomorrow…" The witch began to say.  
  
"If you let him know that I'm here I'm sure he'll see me." Scully interrupted.  
  
The old olive got up and then went to the door. She shuffled as she moved, her hips bouncing up and down in an effort to carry her weight properly. She moved to the large double doors located at the other end of the room and then popped her head in and spoke. Mulder couldn't make out the words, but she seemed very surprised when she opened the door and let a man come out.  
  
Senator Brown was tall with short blond hair and a large build. Mulder tried to remember all the things about the senator he'd known eight years ago while working with VCS. He'd been captain of the football team in high school and collage. He was a University of Chicago graduate in politics and had a wife around his age. He didn't cheat on his wife and nor she on him. He'd married his high school sweetheart, and when he had been elected Senator of Illinois they had moved down here to Springfield.  
  
Mulder could remember the case he'd been here for. The Senator's secretary- the one before the wobbling grape- had been brutally raped and murdered in his office. He remembered the case so well. He'd made such a fuck-up of it. Thinking that it was the senator's wife's fault. Far from, it was an old lover of the secretary. That was his first and last mistake. He'd learned never to make judgments again.  
  
"Dana!" he said taking her into his arms. Mulder, seeing this, automatically became jealous.  
  
"Paul. How are you? It's so good to see you. How are Annie and the kids?"  
  
"Oh everyone is fine." He said. "Look at you, you're all grown up and beautiful. What do you do for a living now?" PAUL seemed to take no notice of anything else around him. He was consumed with Dana.  
  
Scully smiled at him proudly and said: "I'm an FBI agent."  
  
"Erg. Not another one. Do you know that Kara became a cop for the city of Orlando?" He looked defeated.  
  
"Good for her." Scully said happily. Then remembering that Mulder was there said, "Paul this is my partner, Fox Mulder."  
  
"Senator." Mulder said not offering his hand.  
  
Nor did the senator want it. "Agent Mulder. It's been a while."  
  
"Eight years." Mulder said. "Too soon in my taste."  
  
"You're not the only one who feels this way." The senator answered.  
  
The look on Scully's face was one full of surprise Mulder noted. Her eyes were wide and her smile had gone and become more of a curious long line. Even her left eyebrow had risen. "You know each other?" She inquired.  
  
"Yeah. We met a couple years ago while Mulder was handling a case here in Springfield." Paul said.  
  
"I made a stupid mistake, Scully." Mulder said and looked at the ground.  
  
Of he had had a tail, Scully noted; it would have been between his legs.  
  
"Damn right you made a mistake. Blaming Annie for the death of my secretary, Angela." The senator was ranting and raving at her.  
  
"You thought that Annie had killed someone?" Scully said.  
  
"Yes. I was wrong. I did eventually find the correct killer, but all the evidence before had pointed otherwise, and I thought it had pointed to Mrs. Brown."  
  
Scully nodded in understanding "It could have happened to anyone." Then turning back to the senator she said, "Paul, the hotel we were going to spend the night at has been overbooked. I was wondering if you could get us another room for the night. We just need it for one night. We're here on undercover work and the School we'll be in had an apartment for us. We just need a place for the night."  
  
"Why don't you stay with us?" He offered.  
  
'Oh God no!' Mulder thought.  
  
Scully seemed to sense his disapproval and thanked him. "Thanks, but no, Paul. We're here on an undercover assignment, and we can't afford to be associated with you for the duration of it. But we'll see you afterwards, I promise."  
  
"Okay. Well, there's a hotel down the street from the school you'll be working in."  
  
"How do you know what School we'll be working at?" Scully asked.  
  
"There's only one high school here," Mulder told her.  
  
Scully nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. What do you think, Mulder?"  
  
Mulder nodded agreeing. At this point he would do anything to get away from the senator and his darting eyes, which were focused on Scully. His Dana.  
  
Well, we still have a lot of things to do before we actually go undercover. Paul please don't compromise the situation by trying to come into contact with us. I'll call after the case is over okay?" Scully asked in all earnest.  
  
"Don't worry Dana." He said smiling. Then he once again took Scully into his arms. "I'll tell Annie you said hi."  
  
When they released Mulder looked at the senator and the senator right back at him. "Senator."  
  
"Agent Mulder." The senator said right back, with a glare.  
  
Then with his hand behind Scully's back he escorted her out of the office, and right back to the car.  
  
Part 2: The Case  
  
The hotel was, as the senator said, on the same street as the school. Scully was worried about Mulder. He'd been quiet ever since they visited Paul, and she couldn't help thinking that he was jealous. He shouldn't be, she thought, but then she knew that if the roles had been switched she would have been incredibly jealous herself. She looked through the sliding door and saw Mulder lying on his bed with his eyes closed. Was he asleep? She doubted. She slowly and quietly moved to his bed, and then took up residence next to him, laying her head on his chest.  
  
"Hmmmmm." Mulder said bunching her in his arms.  
  
"Did you contact the Bureau in Chicago and the local police department?" She asked him quietly.  
  
"Hmm Hmm." He answered.  
  
"And?"  
  
"We're expected to be at the school at nine AM tomorrow morning."  
  
"Okay. What shall we do till then?" She asked mischievously.  
  
"How about go out and eat somewhere nice tonight. I know a really classy restaurant here in Springfield. You'd really like it I think."  
  
"I need to dress up for this?"  
  
"Yeah, it's very romantic." Mulder said.  
  
"I like the sound of it already." Scully laughed.  
  
"I thought you might." Scully could tell he was smiling even though she couldn't see it. She loved it when he smiled and he definitely didn't do it enough. She was going to change that however, along with all the other problems they had between them. How she had yet to figure out, but she was going to try.  
  
"Okay, Mulder, since you're out for the afternoon," she said playfully, "I'm going to take the car and go out."  
  
"Where?" Mulder inquired worried.  
  
"I'm gong to go and look for a dress. I need to wear something and I doubt you want it to be a suit, so I'm going to look for a dress." She said. She took the keys from his side dresser and then started to leave. On a spur of the moment decision she turned around and asked Mulder. "Mulder, when you last saw Annie, was she still thin?"  
  
"Yeah, she was. Why?"  
  
"She has one of my dresses, and that would be the perfect outfit I'll just go and see if she still has it. I'll see you later."  
  
"Okay Scully." Mulder said. He looked at her with puppy eyes waiting for something and wondering if he would get it. Scully knew what it was and therefore went back over to him and kissed him. He seemed to be happy now, and so she took her leave.  
  
Scully picked up her phone and looked through her directory before placing a call. A woman picked up. He voice was quite highly pitched. And Scully recognized it immediately. "Annie, it's Dana Scully."  
  
"Dana! Paul said that you were in town. How are you?"  
  
"I'm okay. Say, Annie, you don't happen to still have the evening gown I lent you in high school?"  
  
"Of coarse I do. It's hanging in my closet."  
  
"Would you mind if I picked it up? I have a date tonight, and I need a dress."  
  
"By all means come and pick it. Will you still fit in it?" Annie wondered.  
  
"We'll see now won't we? Could you give me directions to your place?"  
  
Scully followed Annie's directions to the T. She eventually came to park in front of a very large mansion at the other end of town. In the garden stood a woman in he early thirties with long red hair. The summer dress she wore complemented her green eyes. Except for age, she looked exactly the same as the day they had both parted on their way to university. Her tall elegant body gave her authority over others. Even though she was the most non- authoritative person Scully had ever known.  
  
The two women hugged and then entered the house. Actually it was more like a palace. Scully had never been into a residence with such lavishness.  
  
"So, Dana, tell me what you've been up to?" Annie asked.  
  
"Well, after high school I went and majored in Medicine, then specialized in pathology. I then joined the FBI."  
  
"Goodness. Do you chase criminals?"  
  
"Of sorts, I'm working with another agent in an off main-stream assignment called the X-files. We investigate bizarre occurrences, and every now and then we help the violent crimes section with an investigation or two."  
  
"Your life must be so interesting."  
  
"It is." Scully smiled.  
  
They had made there way through the house and were now in the walking in closet of Annie. The size of it was enormous and the amount of clothing in it surprised even Scully, it looked like a small boutique. Annie certainly had enough clothes for one. Scully marveled at all the clothing while Annie looked for the dress inquired. After long last of searching she found it. Pulling it out Scully looked at the dress. It had done wonders for her in high school, she wondered if it would still in her older age. Pulling her clothes off and putting on the dress she asked Annie to zip it up. It fit perfectly. She'd lost some weight as a result of the radiation treatment she had to go through last year. She was still trying to gain the weight she had lost before her cancer had gone into remission.  
  
"Well?" Scully said.  
  
"Wow, you look amazing in it. Much better than I ever did anyway."  
  
The dress was short. It reached mid-thigh, and it showed a lot of breast. However, at the same time as being seductive it was elegantly classy. The black velvet material was soft against her skin. She'd loved this dress, and had only allowed Annie to borrow it so that she could use it on a date with Paul. The dress definitely works on men.  
  
"So, who's you're man?" Annie asked.  
  
"Actually, I noticed this morning that you know him," Scully said. Up until this point she had been hesitant to tell Annie that she was dating Mulder, but now she didn't care. Agents make mistakes, and this case had been Mulder's. She didn't love him any less because of it. To the contrary, Scully wanted to proclaim to the world that Fox Mulder was hers and she didn't care what others said. Actually, she didn't give a fuck about what others thought. "His name is Fox Mulder, he was the agent assigned to the case of Paul's secretary eight years ago."  
  
"Ah, yes, Agent Mulder. That was a horrible case. How can you go out with him, Dana? He was such a horrible man to the two of us when he was here. He was a beast to me, blaming me for Angela's death." Annie spat her words out when it came to talking about Mulder, and Scully felt sorry for her. Not that she had been caught in the middle. That happens every now and then, but that she didn't know Mulder for who he really was made her feel very sorry for her long lost friend. "My advice to you, Dana, is to get away from him. He doesn't deserve a woman like you. Go and get a real man. Something like Paul."  
  
Scully looked at Annie. Then to her face said, "I'm sorry you feel that way Annie, but you don't know Mulder. I bet that if I had been in the same situation I would have made the same mistakes. It wasn't his fault. That's just human nature."  
  
Annie seemed to look very cross. A look washed over her face, one that could only be interpreted as: "How dare you take his side and not mine." Scully knew she was beginning to outstay her welcome, but Annie beat her to the punch by saying, "I'm sorry Dana, it was nice to see you again, but I have work to do. Please call when you've finished your case."  
  
Scully nodded. Then while standing just in front of the door to her car she told Annie, "I'm sorry Annie, but I've been working with Mulder for six years now, and I wouldn't exchange his love and friendship for the world. They mean everything to me."  
  
"I know, Dana, we can't choose the people we love. I'll see you soon." Annie smiled and then stood there to watch Scully drive off.  
  
As she headed back to the hotel, Scully sighed. "There goes another friend," she told herself aloud. She had constantly wondered if being with Mulder meant that she had to choose between him and friends. She was positive she had made the right decision. She would stick by Mulder no matter what. She believed in him, and him in her. Yet, above all, she loved him and nothing was going to make her change that. Nothing and no one.  
  
* * *  
  
Mulder slept peacefully for the most part. His dreams started out as they always did. Flashes of his life, memories came to him. Then he would see Scully sitting on a blanket laughing. They were in a field of green with nothing in sight but fields. She looked so happy and carefree. Then everything changed. The sky turns to black, and Scully's frowning. She looks up at him with concerned eyes and then says: "Fox, protect me!" Mulder runs to her and she vanishes. The looks around, but he is alone. There is no one else for miles. Then he hears her voice again: "Fox help me." She repeats. Then the voice changes and it is the voice of his sister, Samantha. "Fox." She says in confusion, as she did the night she was taken.  
  
At this point he wakes up. Or he usually does, but now he is trapped in the nightmare his fears have created for him. Just then there was a soft whisper off in the distance. It's Scully's voice calling for him. "Mulder. Wake up. I'm here. Wake up." Then everything went silent. When he opened his eyes he found Scully sitting on his bed next to him. "Dana?" He said hoarsely. She smiles and he wraps his arms around her, scared to let her go again.  
  
"Hey, it's okay, I'm here." She said.  
  
"You were gone. I lost you." Mulder tells her.  
  
"I went to get a dress, remember?"  
  
"Yeah." He pauses for a moment and then looks at her. "So, how's Mrs. Brown?"  
  
"Well, I don't think I'll be seeing her anymore. She still can't get over your mistake Mulder." Scully tells him.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Scully. You lose everything because of my stupid mistakes and me. Maybe you'd be better off without me."  
  
"No way, G-man. I just got you; I'm not going to let you go that easy. You'll have to deal with me."  
  
"For how long?" Mulder asked honestly and in curiosity.  
  
"As long as you want me by your side."  
  
"That long, huh?"  
  
"Longer."  
  
'Wow.' Mulder thought. 'She really does love me. I love her so much for it.' Mulder knew he would ask her to marry him sometime. He just wasn't sure when. He'd gotten the engagement ring years ago; he just needed to find the right time to give it to her. He would. Meanwhile he needed to get ready for dinner. He'd made arrangements at the restaurant for seven o'clock, and it was already six.  
  
"Did you get your dress?" Mulder asked her.  
  
"Yes." Scully answered somewhat shyly. "You'll like it, but you have to pardon me a little. I'm still really thin. I've been trying to put on the weight I lost, but surprisingly enough it's been difficult. So, I'm a little thin, but the dress fits me, just as it did in eleventh grade."  
  
"Eleventh grade?" Mulder was a little taken back.  
  
"Yeah. I bought it to impress someone, but landed up never wearing it. Annie took it instead to try and get Paul. It's safe to say it worked." They both laughed at the idea of Paul going gaga over a dress.  
  
"Then why don't you get ready, we have to leave in half an hour."  
  
"Okay." She kissed him lovingly, and then went back to her own room closing the connecting door between them.  
  
Mulder watched as she left, then with the lingering feeling of her lips on his, he smiled and went to the bathroom to quickly take a shower. The nightmare had caused him to sweat profusely, and when he did anything with Scully, he couldn't be dirty. The baggage he carried was dirt enough. He wanted something with Scully that was lacking grime and dirt. He wanted to be clean again, just like he was before Samantha disappeared. It was an impossible dream: subconsciously he knew it. However, it was a dream nonetheless. For Scully he would do anything: Even try and make an impossible dream come true.  
  
In fifteen minutes he was out of the shower and shaving. He desperately needed a shave. With all the chaos that had taken place in the last twenty- four hours he hadn't been able to make himself presentable to public.  
  
He went through the other rituals of dressing quickly. If being with his ex- girlfriend Phoebe had taught him anything, it was to sleep and then dress quickly. Just as he was putting on his sedate tie (the only one he owned because Scully had bought it for him) a knock came on his connecting door.  
  
"Come in, it's open." He said. Then turning towards the door he was struck. Not physically, but with beauty. The dress she wore made her look amazing. Then the four-inch heels made her tall. The way she was dressed was exposing, reveling, but in a classic way. Any more would have made her look like a tramp. She showed both cleavage and leg. In Mulder's eyes she was the most beautiful and sexiest creature he had ever laid eyes on. He had thought Phoebe was hot: boy, was he wrong.  
  
He noticed how her cheeks tinted pink. She was blushing.  
  
"Mulder," she said, "close your mouth."  
  
He shut it.  
  
"Well, how do I look?"  
  
He mumbled a little, and then stuttered. "I can't…. I mean…. You eh…. The dress…." Then like all other embarrassing moments he had been in, his humor kicked in. "Who are you, and what have you done with my Dana Katherine Scully?"  
  
Scully giggled along with the joke. "Your Scully?" She played along.  
  
"Yeah, mine." He pulled her against him. "I think you look amazing. Better than amazing. You're now officially my Aphrodite. My goddess."  
  
Scully was reeling from the compliments and Mulder loved to see her that way. "Are you trying to kill me my queen?" He asked.  
  
"No, merely inform you of what is yet to come." She said with a hint of teasing. She did his tie for him and then pulled him towards the door. "But, I have to eat first. I get tired if I don't have food. So, if you want action tonight I need to have good nutrition. Got that, Mulder?"  
  
"Loud and clear ma'am." Mulder's head was swimming. He loosened his tie a little in an effort to regain control of his emotions. Then escorted his date to the tavern restaurant of his choice.  
  
* * *  
  
Scully sat in her classroom and thought. She and Mulder had spent the morning with the School's administration, and she had had to show her degree in medicine and teacher training to finally be accepted as a teacher into the school. Then she and Mulder had gone to check out his office. It looked a lot like Skinner's Scully had noted. Then they had gone to investigate her classroom. If she hadn't known better, Scully thought she had stepped into her senior classroom. She would be teaching high school biology, a subject she knew a great deal about.  
  
Except she had grown accustomed to teaching FBI agents, people in their mid and late twenties, not children at the age of 15. This would be a lot of getting used to. Her first class would begin in thirty minutes, and so, until then she thought about the wonderful dinner she had had with Mulder, and the soft and intimate night they had shared together. Memories and feelings came flooding into her, and when her next class came in, she barely noticed them. Yeah right.  
  
The senior biology class was made up of sixteen boys and nineteen girls. Most of them were White, a couple Black, and no Hispanics. They were very loud with music, chatter and especially with gossip. When they were all in she looked around and familiarized herself with them.  
  
First she needed to get their attention. Yikes.  
  
"My name is Christina Schmidt." She said. That didn't work. She needed a new approach. "How many of you even give a fuck about biology?" She yelled.  
  
The class fell silent. Her mother had always told her that if she wanted attention in a crowd of people, she would have to act like them. "Well, no one answered my question. How many of you are even remotely interested in this subject?"  
  
No one raised his or her hands.  
  
"No one?" She asked. Still nothing. "I wonder why." She saw a white kid sitting in the back, slouched down in his chair, with a sports coat on. He was definitely the captain of the school football team. In high school she would have dated someone like him. Not anymore though. "You seem comfortable and relaxed. Stand up and tell me, why do you hate biology?"  
  
He smiled at her and thinking of something smart and funny that would put her down. She knew he was. But she caught him.  
  
"Okay, here's the challenge. I want you to tell me why, without using any words." She said.  
  
"What?" He looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"I want you to tell me what you like, or dislike about biology without using any words." She repeated. "Let's start with things you like."  
  
He didn't move.  
  
"Come on, you're captain of the football team, and you can't even play charades?"  
  
He moved his arms as if to show the motion of throwing a ball.  
  
"Good. You like to play football. Anyone, what allows this hot-shot to play football?"  
  
"His muscles." Said a voice in the back.  
  
"Very good, what else?"  
  
"His joints." Said another.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"His bones." A girl with long braids in the front said.  
  
"Naturally."  
  
"His nerves." The boy to the rest of the captain said.  
  
"Yup. You've got them all. Captain, what else do you like to do?" The class was warming up to her. She had gotten their attention and they were beginning to take interest in the study. Even the 'Captain' was beginning to become less embarrassed and more at ease, because he started making motions as if he were jerking off.  
  
"Sex." She said. It happened to consequently be the subject they were going to study. "Thank you 'Captain.' You can sit down now."  
  
He did.  
  
"No doubt many of you know the working of the human body when it comes to sex. How about the animal one?" Scully was planning to make them so interested and so embarrassed that they would come to class with their homework done and a determination ready to learn. "Did you know that a female pig has an orgasm for three hours?" A lot of them gasped. "Now you have to imagine, girls, if you had an orgasm for three hours, what do you think you'd look like afterwards? Hell." Some of them laughed. "Wanna know about the male pig? Well, he has a penis that's shaped in a coil, and he ejaculates 15 milliliters of semen. So, now not only is this poor female pig looking like hell, but she's been at it with a corkscrew and she's got enough foreign liquid in her to kill a small village."  
  
The class started laughing harder.  
  
Scully smiled. She and this class would get along very well. "Now, let's see, what other animals do I know about?" That's when she got an idea. "Get out your agendas…. Or whatever you guys use to put homework in…. I want you each to look up one sexual trait of another animal." That they should find fun and interesting in a twisted way."  
  
Just then someone raised his hand. "Yes sir," Scully answered.  
  
"What's your name again?"  
  
"Oh yes… I did mention it, but like biology none of you were interested. My name's Christine Schmidt. I assume you want to know a little about me…. Well, my father was a Captain in the Navy and my mother was, and still is, a dictator in her own house. I have two brothers and I had a sister, but she passed. I've lived in all kinds of places: D.C., Maryland, Chicago, Norfolk, Seattle, and a whole bunch of littler places. I studied at Georgetown, and I have a degree in Medicine. So, Biology is defiantly my favorite subject." She stopped and looked at her attentive students.  
  
"So, let's take attendance. "Mary-James Macintyre," a girl raised her hand. "Joshua Marx," 'Captain' raised his hand. "Hey Joshua, I hope you didn't mind me using you as my test subject." Scully asked.  
  
"No prob. Teach." He answered.  
  
"Good. However, don't call me teach. I'm Mrs. Schmidt. Carrie Fisher." And so on until the whole class had been gone through. Eventually she had begun to recognize students. "Now, you have to realize something about studying biology. It's a lot of work, but I'm going to try and make it as painless as possible, okay?"  
  
There was a bunch of murmurs of yes and no and such. "Now, just because this is my first day of work does not mean that I'm not going to give you homework."  
  
"But you already did." Noted a child at the front Scully recognized as Francis.  
  
"Well, I have and I haven't. The animal traits will take you two minutes to look up on the Internet, so that does not really count as homework does it? It's more like a chore. This is you homework," she picked up the board marker and wrote down the pages she wanted them to read out of their textbook. "There'll be an oral quiz tomorrow, so I suggest you read it. Before you ask, yes, there is a way of gaining back points that you lost on tests and quizzes. You have to write a 3000-word essay. People who don't do homework usually do the essay, and those who don't do either get a big F on their report card, which lowers their GPA considerably. I leave the choice to you however. Anyone who wants to do the essay, let me know by the end of the day, and I'll start preparing what it is you have to write on. Does everyone understand?" Scully looked around the room no one said anything, a couple nodded. "Good then you guys can do anything you want till the end of class." Scully said and took her seat.  
  
She really liked this class. They thought they were hotshots, just like most of her Quantico classes had done, and she had formed them into though scholars. She would do the same for this one.  
  
They talked amongst themselves for the remaining ten minutes of class and then when the bell rang, they all hustled out. She'd have three more classes today. She could take it. After all, they were only high schoolers. She sat in her desk and watched as her next class came in.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Mr. Schmidt?" Someone called out to Mulder.  
  
Mulder looked up from his work at the man standing in his doorway. "Yes Sir, come in, how may I help you?"  
  
"I'm the English teacher. I teach world literature. My name's Pomfret."  
  
"Ah yes, Mr. Pomfret. How do you do?"  
  
"Fine, thank you. I was wondering how you were doing?"  
  
"I'm fine thank you. My wife and I are currently looking for an apartment, but we think we'll just take the former principal's apartment. We have no children, so it should fit us nicely." Mulder told him. He was trying to get a feel for the teacher. He could be the kidnapper after all.  
  
"Where are you living at the moment?"  
  
"In the hotel down the street."  
  
"Oh, yes. You mentioned that you are married…. Christine, am I correct?" Pomfret asked.  
  
Mulder began to become a little protective, but he quickly released it. If they were going to attract the kidnapper they would need to be open and inviting towards him. "Yes, Christine. She's the biology teacher."  
  
"I've already met her in the teacher's lounge. I was wondering Mr. Schmidt if you'd like to go out for a drink after school. It'll be just a little welcome of sorts. I know a really great bar here."  
  
"That would be great Pomfret, and please, call me John."  
  
"No problem John, I'll see you after school then."  
  
Mulder nodded. "Now if you don't mind I have a lot of paperwork to do."  
  
"Of coarse." Pomfret took his leave.  
  
Mulder looked at all the paper on his desk. He had taken the case so that he wouldn't have to do paperwork. It wasn't fair. He should have been the teacher. That's easier, and students like him. However, they only had the biology teacher's post open, and as Scully was a doctor, it was obvious who would have the teaching position. Then as an afterthought he decided to go and see how Scully was doing. He got out of his char and went down the hall to her classroom. She had a class, but they would be over in a couple of minutes so he entered the room.  
  
Everyone looked over to him as he entered.  
  
Then Scully noticed him and smiled. "Here's the man I was thinking of." Scully said.  
  
"In a good way or in a bad way, Christine?" A couple of the guys whistled and both Scully and Mulder smiled. He took a seat next to her on her desk.  
  
"For everyone who doesn't know, this is my husband John Schmidt. John, this is my ninth grade class."  
  
"Hey guys." Mulder smiled.  
  
"Anyway, we were talking about the mind. Mr. Stapanick had just informed us that he'd seen a documentary on psychologists and the supernatural. So, I thought of you." Scully informed him.  
  
"Ah, of coarse."  
  
"And so you have any thoughts on it Doctor Schmidt?" Scully asked playfully.  
  
"Why Doctor Schmidt, what would you like to know?"  
  
"How about you explain to the class what psychology really is and how it relates to biology."  
  
"Well, psychology is the study of the human mind and how we relate to each other. And biology is the study of all living things. Therefore if a human is a living thing we can connect psychology to biology."  
  
"That's very weak dear." Scully said a loud and everyone laughed, including Mulder.  
  
"Sorry, Christine, but that's all I think of on a moment's notice. Let me try again…. The study or psychology is all in the mind. The mind is what we consider our thinking process takes place, thus the brain. People who are different psychologically also have something different biologically. Whether it be genetically or physically is for a biologist to determine…. How's that dear?" He asked. He loved how they could just throw pet and dear names to each other now. It felt so right, so easy.  
  
"Much, much better. What do you think?" She asked the class.  
  
They applauded and Mulder bowed causing everyone to laugh.  
  
"That gives me a great idea for homework." Scully said.  
  
There was a groan from all the students and Mulder smiled. 'You're not going to give them homework like you do in Quantico are you?' he asked her with his eyes' Knowing Scully she would.  
  
'No.' She answered silently.  
  
"Okay, get your agendas out. This is your homework. I want you to take your favorite hobby, and connect it to biology. For example how Mr. Schmidt did his: his second connection that is. Please spare the lameness for another teacher." Some people smiled, the girls giggled.  
  
Just then the class bell rang. It was 3:20. School was over. Scully looked at Mulder more seriously. "We need to talk soon."  
  
"Yeah. I'm going out for a drink with Pomfret today after school, so I'll see you in the hotel afterwards. I think we'll move into the apartment tomorrow, what do you think?"  
  
"Sounds good. I'll see you later." Scully said and kissed Mulder chastely on the lips. Mulder looked at her sadly.  
  
"We're in school, Mulder. Get home quickly and I'll kiss you properly."  
  
Mulder smiled and then ran out of the room to get to his office. He would be home as fast as possible  
  
* * *  
  
Scully slept for the most part while Mulder was gone, eventually waking up to write her lesson plan for the next day. She started with the ninth grade and made a list of things to do. Basic biology was necessary, as was it to find out how much they knew. A written test would do the trick. She quickly put together a test that would explain to her what they knew. It was mostly essay, but there were multiple choice and short answer as well.  
  
With the ninth grade out of the way, she turned to the tenth grade. They had had basic biology, and therefore needed to start human physiology. Her best area of study was human anatomy. She could name every muscle bone and joint in Latin. She would go through bones and muscles tomorrow. She had had a great diagram as a student, and if she could find the book, she could set them off to do it themselves, separating the class into two: one for bones and one for muscles. That would take the whole period.  
  
Her mind reflected to her discussion with Mulder that afternoon:  
  
"Guess what I heard today?" He had said.  
  
"What?" She asked amused.  
  
"I've heard two teachers, and about half a dozen students say that Mrs. Caroline Schmidt is hot."  
  
"You're kidding me!" She had exclaimed. Scully had always known she was okay looking, but that someone thought she was hot was beyond her.  
  
"I kid you not. Both Mister Panhuys and Doctor Waters were both talking about it the men's room when I walked in, and when they say me they both tried to reassure me that they were in no way trying for you in anyway."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I told them that they weren't the only ones who thought you were hot but couldn't touch."  
  
"Frohike." Scully had commented.  
  
"Among others," he told her.  
  
"I don't believe you."  
  
"Well, I also ran into a conversation today between a couple of students talking about how the new biology teacher is such a hot item."  
  
Scully's mouth was wide open.  
  
"Now you're pulling my leg."  
  
"No tugging here."  
  
That's when Scully had gotten up ready to go to her next class. "I'll see you later John. Can we go out to dinner tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. I know another little nice place. This one not so fancy, so we can go as we are."  
  
"I like that." Scully had smiled and then reached over to kiss him. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too," he told her, and then when she opened the door he stopped her. "Oh, and Christine?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You really are a dish, and I'm really not the only one who thinks so." He had told her. Mulder had never before commented on the way she looked. Well, not in that sense. She felt wonderful. The other comments washed past her, but that Mulder thought she was good-looking made her really feel it. She felt beautiful now that he told her so.  
  
"Well, as long as you think so, love, I don't care what the others think of me." She had told him in all honesty.  
  
"Well, then you need not worry, dear, I always have thought- and always will think- that you're beautiful." His smile was wide. She loved him all the more now that he had said that.  
  
"I have to get to class." She said with a smile, "I'll see you after school." Then she had left closing the door behind her.  
  
Scully turned her thoughts to the next class. The eleventh grade was a little trickier than the then grade. They were doing evolution, a study she knew nothing about. She picked up the school prescribed book and began to read.  
  
The subject soon began to fascinate her so much that she didn't even notice Mulder enter her room from his with food. She was at the section where hunters and gatherers were being explained when a pair of lips touched the base of her neck. Scully's work flew into the air and she screamed, pulling out her sidearm. But when she aimed it at her intruder, she saw Mulder kneeling on her bed with his arms in the air.  
  
"Damn you, Mulder!" she said. Then after a short pause began to laugh. Very hard.  
  
Mulder joined her, and soon they were toppled on Scully's bed laughing and holding each other. The laughter soon died down and a new emotion took over: passion. Within seconds they were kissing and touching as they had the night before: as if there were no tomorrow. For, for all they knew, there wasn't.  
  
* * *  
  
John-  
  
I've gotten an invitation out for a drink today, so I won't be home for a couple hours. Don't wait up.  
  
Love,  
  
Christine  
  
Such was the letter Mulder found on his desk after school. He looked at it suspiciously, but then put his emotions away. He had already semi-profiled the kidnapper the night before, and was sure that he would not strike for another few days, at least a week. Scully was safe for the time being.  
  
He picked up his briefcase and a load of paperwork and then headed for the apartment. He'd move everything to the new apartment while Scully was out, then he would leave a message at the hotel for her to take a cab to the address. He didn't think she would mind.  
  
After moving everything into the new spacious apartment he set down to do some of the paperwork he had brought along, both school and FBI related. That way when Scully came back, he could help her on her lesson plan, and then they could get on with other things. He smiled at the thought.  
  
But something bothered him. He pulled the note out and reread it. Something wasn't right. Why hadn't she written whom she was going out with? Then he noticed her handwriting. It was rushed, in an abnormal way, in a un-Scully way. He decided to call her on her hand phone.  
  
It rang, and after three rings Mulder realized that there was a ringing coming from the room next to him. Walking in, he fumbled through the bags and then realized that Scully had left her hand phone in her suitcase. They weren't supposed to use it undercover, but Mulder was hoping that she would carry it around just incase something happened.  
  
Rummaging through the rest of her things he picked up her diary and found the Brown's phone number. Then dialing he waited until someone picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" came a male voice through the phone. Senator Brown.  
  
"Senator, It's Fox Mulder." Mulder identified himself.  
  
"Yes, Agent Mulder?" The man was inpatient for Mulder, and Mulder knew it. The harsh history between the two showed that.  
  
"I'm sorry to bother you, but have you seen Dana?" Mulder asked.  
  
"Not since you were in my office yesterday." The senator answered a little worried. "Did the two of you have a fight?"  
  
"No. She left me a message that she was going out with someone and that was it. It's odd. She's never done that, especially on a case."  
  
"Yes, that does not sound like Dana, I agree."  
  
"Do you know where I may be able to find her?" Mulder was at this point very concerned. He couldn't stand the thought of having her taken from him again. More to the point, he would have put her in danger again, by not having taken more precautions. His profile would have been wrong. Dreadfully wrong.  
  
There was silence on the other side of the phone conversation. Then the senator said, "Agent Mulder, it's been eight years, and I should have forgiven you long ago. Dana's right, anyone could have made that mistake, after all, in my work I make plenty of mistakes. I'll help you find Dana. I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes. Where are you?"  
  
Mulder gave the senator the address and then proceeded to put the phone down. For the next fifteen minutes he sat quietly in the lobby of the apartment building and prayed. He prayed to the God he had abandoned years ago that he would find Scully again. That he would get her back. He prayed that she was safe and that she would not be harmed. He sat curled up on the bench when the senator found him and escorted him to his car.  
  
"Agent Mulder, who do you think has her?" the senator asked.  
  
"I think the kidnapper we were after has her. My profile is wrong" Mulder's head fell. He was embarrassed and ashamed. It was the Brown case all over again. "I'm sorry senator, I'm really not at my best in this town am I?"  
  
"As long as we're working together, it's Paul. And, no, you are not at your best here in this town. But then, Sandwich, Illinois is not my best city either."  
  
"So where are we going first?"  
  
"Let's check out all the bars restaurants and cafés. After we have ruled them out we can think of alternative places."  
  
"Okay." Mulder was placing his trust in Paul now. He didn't like it, but he didn't have a choice. If this were the only way he'd get Scully back he'd take it.  
  
Half an hour later they had gone through each target. She was in none of them. Mulder was on the verge of breaking down. He was so distraught. But, he couldn't give up on Scully. He hadn't before, and he wasn't about to start now. He pulled the letter back out and reread it. He knew he was missing something. His conversation with Pomfret came to mind.  
  
"My wife and I are currently looking for an apartment, but we think we'll just take the former principal's apartment. We have no children, so it should fit us nicely."  
  
"Where are you living at the moment?"  
  
"In the hotel down the street."  
  
"Oh, yes. You mentioned that you are married…. Christine, am I correct?"  
  
"Pomfret," he said out loud.  
  
"Who?" Paul asked.  
  
"He's an English teacher at the school. That's the kidnapper. That's where Dana is. He's got her. I have his address at the apartment. If we go there I can pick it up and we can go and get her out. We don't even know what he does with the women he kidnaps."  
  
Paul didn't even answer. He just started the car.  
  
* * *  
  
"This is not happening. This is not happening." Scully kept mumbling to herself.  
  
"She's waking up." Said a woman's voice.  
  
Scully opened her eyes to find six women around her. They were all about her age gap. She looked at each woman individually for a moment and then realized that they were the missing wives. They were all accounted for, for the past three years.  
  
"Ah dear," said one, "don't get up just yet, there's no need, you're safe here."  
  
"Where is here, Heather?" Scully asked.  
  
"Under Mister Pomfret's house," Heather answered confused. "How do you know who I am?"  
  
"My name is Dana Scully. I am an FBI agent. My partner and I went on an undercover operation to find the kidnapper." She explained.  
  
"Thank God someone's coming to rescue us." Another said. Scully recognized her as Julia. She'd been here the longest.  
  
"My partner is right on it. He'll come and get us. Now, I am a doctor, are you all okay?"  
  
"We're fine," said Julie. "He doesn't do anything to us, if that is what you mean. He gives us food, there's a tap in the corner for water, and we're all healthy."  
  
"Then, what's his motive?"  
  
"He's a lonely man, Agent Scully. He keeps us around to talk to us. He asks us things, personal ones, and we tell him. Stories, answers, anything really."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He treats us alright. We can't leave, so we might as well. We do miss our husbands terribly." Heather explained.  
  
"And you're alright with this?" Scully wondered.  
  
"I guess, but if you could get us out and back to out husbands, we would be much obliged.  
  
"I'm going to try."  
  
"Do you have a husband?" Heather asked.  
  
"No, but I do have a boyfriend- a lover- and I need him to survive, so don't worry, I'm getting out, and I'm taking all of you with me."  
  
Scully thought back to this afternoon after school let out. She had run into Pomfret, who had invited her to have a drink with him. Scully wanted to warn Mulder, that something might happen, but then all of a sudden Pomfret had had a gun on her. He then ordered her to write a message to Mulder, telling him that she was out. Afterwards he had led her to the car, and had injected her with something. She was as of yet not sure what it was, and made a note to herself to have a toxin check done.  
  
She looked around the room. The room was a light green color, and there were beds. They were queen sized, and two women shared a bed. There were side tables and lamps, books and magazines; there was even a sink and a table at which they could eat. Scully walked around looking around. There were two doors. One was locked; probably the door to get out; and the other was a bathroom. In the bathroom was a toilet, a bathtub, and a large closet, which was filled with linens and clothes.  
  
Then an idea came to her.  
  
Scully rushed back into the room. If Pomfret hadn't thought she was an FBI agent, he wouldn't have even taken anything, like the contents in her handbag. "Where's my hand bag?" She asked the other women.  
  
"Under your bed." Said Heather.  
  
Scully got the bag and opened it. She had been right he hadn't looked in, because if he had he would have seen that she carried a gun.  
  
One of the ladies gasped when she saw the gun.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm not going to harm him; I'm just going to get us out, and him in custody. When does he usually come in?" She asked.  
  
"He'll be in, in about fifteen minutes." Heather said looking at her watch.  
  
"Good, that gives us time. I want you to do everything as normal. Don't even pay attention to me anymore than you usually would. Does he sit down Heather?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good. Julie, go and get us a sheet. Then I want you to rip it in strips. We'll tie him up with that. I want you and Cathrine," Scully pointed to the woman next to her, "to each put one or two in your pocket. Then when the time comes I want you to tie him tightly to the chair he is in, okay?"  
  
Both women nodded and when to their work.  
  
"The rest of you act as normal, Heather, when we've got him bound I want you to go upstairs and make a phone call. I want you to call 911 and tell them where we are, who we are, and such. All right? … And before I forget, tell them to inform Agent Mulder. Can you remember that name?"  
  
"Agent Mulder." Heather repeated.  
  
"Good."  
  
When the strips had been tied, Scully left the two women, and then they all sat and waited for Pomfret to arrive. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in," Julie called.  
  
"The door opened and then Pomfret walked in and shut the door. "Good evening ladies. How are you all feeling?"  
  
"Very well, thank you." Heather told him.  
  
"And you Christine?"  
  
"Fine." Scully said. She had put her sig-sauer in her pocket and followed as everyone sat down at the table. Scully took a chair next to Pomfret. Then as soon as he was seated down she removed it, and stood, aiming it at his temple.  
  
Pomfret sat up in surprise.  
  
"Julie, Cathrine, tie him up." Scully ordered them. Then making sure it was tight she told Heather to go up and make the call. She sent another woman with her and told them both to wait at the door for the police. However when they opened the door they screamed.  
  
Scully turned around to see two men with guns in their hands, and when she looked closer, she saw that they were Mulder and Paul. "Thank God." Scully said aloud. "Don't worry Cathrine, Heather. That's Agent Mulder, he's my partner, and he won't hurt you. He's come to get us, like I said he would." Scully was so happy to see him. Her smile radiated. Mulder walked in and immediately went towards her.  
  
He noticed Pomfret bound in the chair and still looking around in shock. "You okay, Scully?" Mulder had his gun on Pomfret."  
  
"We're fine."  
  
"The police are on their way. They'll be here any moment."  
  
Scully took her gun away from Pomfret and looked around the room. Most of the ladies were still in shock, but the happiness could be seen in their faces. It was evident that they had realized that they were free. Seconds later the police came in. And before she knew it, Scully was in the tub soaking away all the events that had transpired.  
  
* * *  
  
Mulder left her in the bathroom for a while by herself. She needed that. He'd eventually go in. Not to join her in the bathtub, but to get her out. Mulder found that if he let her be, Scully would become an aquatic animal, never getting out. He smiled at the thought.  
  
He was sitting down at the laptop, writing up the report for Skinner. They had been given two days to clean up any mess with the police and the school. Then they were expected to be back in Washington to give Skinner the report.  
  
Mulder looked up from his work when he heard the tub emptying. Scully was going to rerun the water if he didn't stop her. He got up, and getting her pajamas he knocked and entered. Scully was sitting in an empty bathtub with her eyes closed. She hadn't started to run the water yet.  
  
"Mulder, I've been thinking, actually I can't understand it." She said. Her eyes were still closed, and her lips separated, and her arms around her legs.  
  
"What, Scully?" Mulder took a towel and began wiping her. Pulling out of the bathtub he continued running the towel.  
  
"Why would someone kidnap women just to talk to them?" Scully asked. "Pomfret wasn't difficult with women, after all, all the women would have gone out with him willingly. He's a great conversationalist, and he's very knowledgeable. I just don't understand why he doesn't go out and meet someone. He isn't all that bad looking either."  
  
Mulder was silent. He looked at Scully as she put her pajama's on. The thought had actually occurred to him. He didn't understand it either. The idea had been puzzling him too.  
  
"Mulder?"  
  
Mulder looked into Scully's eyes and said, "I don't know." Then he went back to the living room and picked up the telephone.  
  
"Detective White."  
  
"This is Agent Mulder, I'd like to talk to Pomfret tomorrow morning. I need to finish my profile, and I need to talk to him for that."  
  
"Yes, Agent Mulder. How about at eight o'clock. If you come here to the precinct then we can go together."  
  
"Very well, I'll meet you in the morning." Mulder put the phone down and then looked at the doorframe. Scully was sitting there clad in her pajamas. He smiled and then looked at her saying, "Come on, Superwoman, let's go to bed: there isn't much left to do."  
  
Scully nodded and then let Mulder escort her into the bedroom. He lifted the covers for her and she slid in. Then Mulder walked to the other side, where he got into bed. He turned off his side lamp and then he moved towards Scully, taking her in his arms. She came willingly and wrapped her arms around him, and put her head on his chest.  
  
Neither could sleep.  
  
They just lay there; listening to each other's breathing and thinking of what had happened that afternoon. Until, that is, Mulder spoke out.  
  
"I almost lost you today. You should ask Paul, I was on the verge of falling apart. We knew so little on the kidnapper, and my profile had been wrong…. It was the Brown case all over again. The worst part of it was not knowing what the kidnapper did. Did he assault his victims? Rape them? Torture them? Kill them? It was driving me to insanity. I could not deal with the fact that I had just gotten you, and that I might lose you. You're everything to me Dana, and without you I would have eaten a bullet long ago. Do you know that I vowed, that if I ever found you dead I would kill myself?" He heard Scully gasp. "I made it during the time you were in a coma after your abduction, and it still holds true today. Don't ever leave me Dana," he held her to him tighter. "That would be the end of me." His last words were a whisper, but Scully caught every single one of them.  
  
"Never willingly, love. Now sleep, in the morning we'll get everything over with, and then we'll go home. We'll ask Skinner for a vacation, and then we wont leave my apartment for a week or two, okay?"  
  
Mulder made a noise of agreement, and then they both settled off to sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Scully took a deep breath as she entered into her classroom. Today she would tell her students that she would be leaving. Would there be any problems? What would they think? Would there be disappointment? She hesitated to tell them. She was scared what sort of reaction she would get, hopefully a good one.  
  
Her first class would be her eleventh grade. Their homework had been to finish labeling their bones or skeletons. She'd make them copy from each other this class and then in the last few minutes she'd stop them and let them know.  
  
That's how class went: five minutes before the end of the class she stopped them.  
  
"Okay, guys, stop now, put down your pens and pencils and listen up." She waited for everyone's attention and then she started again. "I'm leaving." She said. "I have to confess, I'm not really your teacher. You're going to get a new teacher soon. My real name is Dana Scully, and I'm an FBI Agent." There were gasps coming from all the students. "I was here on a case, and now that is over I'm going back to Washington DC."  
  
"Was it dangerous?" Asked Jordan, a girl in the back.  
  
"Yes, it was, but my partner and I caught the person, and we rescued the victims."  
  
"Is that, you're husband?" Another girl wondered.  
  
"Um, well, yeah… He's not my husband, he's my partner, Agent Mulder."  
  
For the rest of the class they asked her questions, and seemed to find it truly cool that an FBI agent had taught them. They truly were interested, and Scully felt much more comfortable. She was going to miss them; that was sure.  
  
By the time she came to the senior class, she was much more relaxed, and had nothing to say. Word had gotten round fast and they already knew what was going on by the time they entered the classroom.  
  
"So, teach, you're not really a teach. Word's going round that you're a cop, is that true?" Joshua asked as he entered the classroom.  
  
"I'm an FBI agent, Captain." She corrected him.  
  
"That's cool."  
  
"That's okay with you?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"I'm glad." Scully smiled at the light humor.  
  
"Agent Scully, will you be leaving us?" Asked Mary Jane.  
  
"Yes, Mary Jane. I will. I have to go back to work."  
  
"But who's going to help up prepare for our SAT's?"  
  
"There'll be a teacher in for you tomorrow, from what I know she's a professional teacher the FBI found from the DC area to replace me. I was merely here on a case, and now that it's over I'm going home."  
  
"Home… as in DC?" One of the boys asked.  
  
"No, to Mars." Someone shot back.  
  
"Hey, just because I'm not your teacher anymore does not mean that you cannot be nice to each other. It's a good question. Yes, I'm going back to DC. But you never know, the world's a small place, and you never know when you're going to run into someone you know."  
  
By the time the class was over, they had talked about all kinds of things. Scully had discussed the process to which a body was to be autopsied, and why it was important to clean under your nails every morning.  
  
With a couple of hugs from the students they left for their next class.  
  
It was over.  
  
All she had left to do was get back to Mulder, and then back to DC: to an ordinary life. Scully smiled at the thought, life with Mulder and the X- files was never boring. She turned and left the school and then went back to the hotel. She'd have a great time writing in her diary when she got home. She had a new experience to add… one as an undercover Biology teacher.  
  
  
  
END 


End file.
